And another one :)
When I awoke the next day I turned towards the entrance to find it completely blocked up with snow. "Hey guys wake up! Let's go see if it's stopped snowing." I said, shaking Ash awake and he groaned.
"Five more minutes." He groaned but I whacked his head to get him going.
"Wake up!"
"Wargh okay! I'm awake!" He shook his head to shake out the effects then smiled down at Pikachu and Chikorita as they remained curled up in his arms. "Hey you guys, you both sleep alright?"
"Pikachu!"
"Chika." Chikorita nodded her head then snuggled back closer to Ash. Wow, it seems she's quite taken with him. Yawning and stretching I picked up my jacket and shrugged into it then rolled up my bag.
"I'm sure glad you're always prepared Ruby, you're the greatest." Ash said to me and I nodded my head.
"I know." I shrugged then followed him to the entrance where we pushed our way through to find bright, beautiful sunshine and a glorious new morning.
"Hey! Looks like the snow storm is finally over!" Ash laughed then turned back into the cave. "It's safe to leave now! Let's get back to the Pokémon Centre, come on!" Chikorita and Pikachu bounced out of the cave and together we head out to find our way down.
Suddenly I heard a huge roar and I turned to the sky with an elated gasp. "Charizard! Is that you?" Another roar answered and suddenly I could see him flying towards us with Pidgeotto, leading the way for Nurse Joy and the others.
"Ash! Hey Ash!"
"Ruby! Pikachu!" Misty cried out and waved happily as they spotted us.
"Chikorita!" Nurse Joy said with surprise as they followed Ash's Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Misty's Psyduck. Charizard and Pidgeotto flew down closer and I laughed again, feeling so glad to see them.
"We've looked everywhere for you! Are you guys okay?" Misty asked as they got closer.
"Yeah! We're just great!" Ash yelled back just as Charizard landed and Pidgeotto flew a circle around me, fluttering before my face so I could reach out and hold her.
"Pidgeotto! Charizard! I'm so glad to see you all!" I exclaimed, hugging her to me as she rubbed my face with her beak, chirping happily then flew up to Charizard's shoulder as he lowered his head and let me grab on to hug him tightly. "Thanks for coming to find us, you two are the best!" In answer Charizard stuck out his tongue and slathered it all over me, making me giggle as I got a fresh taste of his affection. "Yup! Definitely the best!"
"Well come on you two, let's get you back to the Pokémon Centre to warm up." Nurse Joy said as she clapped her hands. "And we'll make sure Pikachu and Chikorita are alright as well.
"Sounds good to me. Come on you guys! There's a hot chocolate waiting for me with my name on it!" I said with a bright smile and raced off the way the others had come just as I heard Ash's stomach grumble.
"Wait for me! I want a hot chocolate too!" He called but paused to smile at Chikorita. "Come on Chikorita, I'll race you!"
"Chika!" She beamed then ran after Ash as he led the way, sliding down the slope as the others hurried to keep up with us. I hadn't realised how cold I was until I had had a nice hot bath. My body tingled all over, still not yet warm on the inside so I quickly downed some hot chocolate and fresh cookies I had whipped up with Nurse Joy's permission whilst she carried out checks on Pikachu and Chikorita, making sure they hadn't been hurt by the blizzard's cold.
I brought them out to share, one half for humans and the other for Pokémon which I shared with everyone. "Enjoy!" I beamed, letting everyone munch them down at their own discretion whilst I sat with Dratini and Eevee on my lap, curled up and simply happy to have me back and Bulbasaur at my side, taking a nice nap.
Pidgeotto stood at the chair's head over my shoulder, keeping a close eye on me though she chirped happily and continuously rubbed her head into mine, letting me know how glad she was I was safe and I answered by feeding her crumbs of cookie I broke up for her.
Charizard kept an eye on everyone, having to bow his head but he refused to go back into his Pokéball when he knew there were cookies about so I didn't rush him, letting him sit down behind me and blow hot air down on us which was really welcome after all that snow.
"Nurse Joy!" Ash said as he noticed her enter with Pikachu and Chikorita, the both of whom ran over to him and he welcomed them with open arms.
"Both Pokémon are fighting fit and ready to go. They're both very tough so I don't have any trouble letting them both go today." Nurse Joy told us with a smile as she looked over our Pokémon. "I must say, these have to be the healthiest, best kept Pokémon I have ever seen. You've done a wonderful job in raising them, good job all of you!"
"Thanks Nurse Joy but we owe it all to Brock." I said. "He's the one who taught us what to feed our Pokémon to keep them healthy on the inside and out." Brock blushed as Nurse Joy smiled with a tinkling laugh.
Once all the Pokémon had finished their cookies and Ash had wolfed down the last few of his, we returned them all to their Pokéballs and head out to continue our journey. We stopped at the bottom of the steps to say goodbye to Nurse Joy, though I could tell Brock wasn't too worried about leaving quickly.
"It was a great pleasure to meet you Nurse Joy." Brock said to her with a bright smile. "If you ever need a Pokémon breeder, don't hesitate to call me!"
"And Chikorita." Ash said, looking down to the little Pokémon with a soft smile and tone. "You try not to be so stubborn from now on, okay?" He told her before standing upright. "See you Nurse Joy!"
"I hope we meet again." Brock added so I turned him around with a giggle.
"Come on Brock, let's get this show back on the road!" All too eager to get moving I sped things up a little. "Bye Nurse Joy! Thanks for taking care of my Pokémon!" I waved as the others all said goodbye too.
"It was nice meeting you, buh bye now!" Nurse Joy smiled as she waved, seeing us off as we set back on the road.
"Chika…" Suddenly I felt the flash of heartbreak and overwhelming fear of loss tumble through my mind, startling me to leap up into the air and grip my head.
"Ruby! You okay?"
"Yeah! I'm fine." I said, quickly filling my head with my own thoughts before turning to see Chikorita racing towards us, calling out despairingly. "Chikorita?" She leaped easily into Ash's grip, rubbing her head into his leg as she hugged herself to him.
"What's the matter Chikorita?" How does he do it? He seems to be picking up Pokémon left right and centre!
"Chika, Chika, Chika Chika." Chikorita answered then waved her leaf in front of Ash's face gently, emitting a radiant aroma which smelled of beautiful flowers.
"That smells really nice." Misty said as she breathed it in.
"Sure does." Ash agreed and I inhaled it slowly, enjoying the sweet scent of its fragrance as Nurse Joy approached us.
"Looks to me that Chikorita wants to come along with you and your friends." She told Ash who looked back down at Chikorita as she nuzzled into him. "Chikorita could really use a trainer like you to teach it not to be so stubborn."
"Yeah maybe you're right." Ash said with a smile then looked down again to the adorable love struck Pokémon. "You wanna come with me Chikorita?" I laughed as Chikorita climbed up onto Ash and kissed his face, quickly taking a snapshot with my camera at the adorable little scene. I can't wait to print all these off.
"Pika!" Pikachu squealed happily as Ash leaped up and spun around with Chikorita, holding her to him in one arm to salute with a victory sign with the other hand.
"Alright! Chikorita is my new Pokémon!"
"Chika!" Chikorita agreed and we all laughed. That Ash, he really knows how to catch them.
